Can openers



y 2, 1958 H. w. LINDAHL 2,843,931

CAN OPENERS Filed May 25, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 July 22, 1958 H. w. LINDAHL CAN OPENERS Filed May 23, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 United States Patent Ofiice CAN OPENERS Henning Waldemar Lindahl, Landskrona, Sweden, as-

signor to AB Lindahls Mekaniska, Landskrona, Sweden, a corporation of Sweden Application May 23, 1957, Serial No. 661,226

2 Claims. (Cl. 30-9) The present invention relates to can openers of the type comprising a feed wheel, a cutting wheel radially movable toward the feed wheel to initially grip and puncture the can, and gear means associated with said cutting wheel and said feed wheel, respectively, and adapted to mesh so that while the feed wheel ryotates and drives the can the cutting Wheel will remove the top of the can.

In the prior art forms of such can openers the feed wheel is rotatable by means of a crank and arranged on a shaft connected to said crank while the cutting wheel is mounted on movable means operable for moving the cutting wheel. Upon rotation of the crank in one direction, the normal direction, the cutting wheel is moved towards said feed wheel to initially grip and puncture a can inserted between said cutting wheel and said feed wheel, and at the continued rotation of the crank in said normal direction the feed wheel rotates and drives the can relative to the cutting wheel so that the latter removes the top of the can. Upon rotation of the crank in the opposite direction the cutting wheel is moved out of engagement with the can, thus facilitating the removal and insertion of the can, respectively, in the can opener between the cutting and feed wheels.

It is the primary object of the present invention to provide an improved and simplified form of can opener of the type referred to above. Another object is to provide a can opener having improved means for sealing the hollow space containing the mechanism of the can opener so that the contents of the punctured can are effectively prevented from penetrating into the can opener mechanism and thus dirtying it and prematurely wearing it out.

In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the entrainment means comprises a radius rod which is non-rotatably connected to the shaft of the crank but is axially tiltable, said radius rod being mounted close to the eccentric in a position in which the rod normally extends parallel to the plane of the eccentric, and projects radially relative to the crankshaft. The rod is long enough to swing past a cam-like projection on a slidable carrier so that upon rotation of the shaft the rod will pass over the projection and tilt the rod. The rod has one longitudinal edge portion bent towards the eccentric to form a tooth which is adapted to fit into a recess in said eccentric or, when the rod is tilted by said projection, to go past said recess, depending upon the direction of movement of the crank and thus of the entrainment means.

Further objects of the invention and the resulting ad vantages will become apparent from the following description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings illustrating a preferred embodiment of the can opener. In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side view of a can opener according to the invention, certain parts being broken away;

Fig. 2 is a section on line II-II in Fig. 1;

Figs. 3 and 4 are fragmentary side views of the can opener, in which the movable partsthereof are shown in different positions; and

Fig. 5 is a bottom end view of carrier 11 shown at enlarged scale.

In the drawings, 1 is a feed wheel, the peripheral surface of which is knurled for safely rotating and driving the can relative to the cutting wheel 7. The feed wheel 1 is fixed together with a gear 2 to a drive shaft 3 which is mounted in a housing 5 formed in the body 4 of the can opener, and on said shaft 3 there is secured a crank for rotating the shaft and consequently the feed wheel 1 and gear 2. The cutting wheel 7 of the can opener is operatively connected to a gear 8 which in the position shown in Fig. 2 meshes with the gear 2. The cutting wheel 7 and the gear 8 are mounted together on one end of a shaft or stub axle 9 which is passed through an elongated opening 10 in the wall of the housing 5 The shaft 9 has its end penetrating into the housing 5 fixed to a slide or carrier 11 which can be actuated for moving the cutting wheel 7 towards and away from the feed wheel 1. For this purpose the slide 11 has a hole 12 which is eccentric to the shaft 3 and in which an eccentric 13 rotatably mounted on the shaft 3 is inserted. The eccentric 13 is adapted to be connected to the shaft 3 and consequently to the crank 6 when the latter is rotated so that the slide 11 and the shaft 9 secured to said slide are displaced by the movement of the eccentric 13 in the hole 12 provided therefor in the-slide 11, and by said displacement of the slide 11 and the shaft 9 thereon the cutting wheel 7 will be moved towards or away from the feed wheel 1. When the crank is rotated clockwise the cutting wheel 7 is moved to the position shown in Fig. 2 in which it punctures the can inserted between the cutting wheel 7 and the feed wheel 1, removing the top of the can at the continued rotation of the crank. When the crank 6 is rotated anticlockwise, as shown in Fig. 4, the cutting wheel 7 is moved away from the feed wheel 1, thus facilitating the removal of the can from the can opener, and simultaneously the cutting wheel 7 is disconnected from the crank 6. The

slide 11 has for this purpose a projection or entrainment cam 15, so arranged relative to a recess 16 in the eccentric 13 that entrainment means (described below) which is movably connected to the crank 6, upon rotation of the crank clockwise, passes over said projection 15, as shown in Fig. 3, without engaging in the recess 16, and upon rotation of the crank 6 anti-clockwise said entrainment means engages in the recess 16, as shown in Fig. 4,. after passing over the projection.

In accordance with the invention, the entrainment means is in the form of a radius rod 17-18 which is nonrotatably connected to the shaft 3 of the crank 6 but is axially tiltable. Said rod is located close to the eccentric 13 and normally extends parallel to that of the eccentric 13. In addition, rod 18 is long enough to reach to the bottom of carrier or slide 11 abreast entrainment cam 15, the latter being suitably shaped, as shown in Fig. 5, for deflecting rod 18. During its movements the rod 18 thus passes over cam 15 and is tilted away from eccentric 13. Rod 18 has an enlarged edge portion bent towards eccentric 13 so as to form a tooth 19 at a position such that tooth 19 will enter recess 16 when rod 18 is not tilted away by projection 15,

When the crank 6 and thereby the rod 1.8 are rotated clockwise (the direction indicated by the arrow 20 in Fig. 1) and the rod 18 passes the recess 16 in the eccentric 13, the tooth 19 of said rod snaps into said recess 16 but is immediately lifted out of it when the rod 18 at its continued rotation passes over the projection 15 (Fig. 3), so the tooth 19 will not engage the edge of the recess 16. Upon rotation of the crank 6 anti-clockwise (the direction opposed to that indicated by the arrow 20) the rod 18 after passing over the projection 15 will fall down into the recess 16, engaging the edge thereof and carrying the eccentric 13 along (Fig. 4), eccentric 13 Patented July 22, 1958 V being rotated substantially through half a revolution, displacing the slide or carrier 11 to the upper position in which it is stopped and in which the cutting wheel 7 is at a distance from the feed wheel 1. As soon as the crank .6 and the rod 18 are again swung in the direction indicated by the arrow 20, the rod 18 by means of the tooth 19 engaging in the recess 16 of the eccentric carries the eccentric along to the position shown in Fig. 1, and then to the position shown in Fig. 3 in which the tooth 19 is disconnected by the action of the projection 15 from the crank 6. Upon continued rotation in this direction, as earlier mentioned, this causes the cutting wheel 7 to remove the top of the can in the can opener without carrying along the eccentric in this movement.

Carrier 11 is held against the side of housing by guides 21 which are disposed on a lid 22 which can be secured to the housing 5. The portion 17 of radius rod 18 is under pressure from a spring 23 interposed between portion 17 and the lid 22. In all positions the slide 11 covers the opening and thus effectively prevents impurities from penetrating into the cavity of the housing 5. If desired, said cavity may be packed with a suitable grease.

Modifications are conceivable within the scope of the invention such as it is defined in the appendant claims.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A can opener comprising a fixed plate, a carrier slidably mounted on said plate for movement parallel thereto, a stub axle extending from said carrier, a can cutting wheel on said axle, a first gear on said axle, said gear being drivingly connected to said cutting wheel, a drive shaft journaled in said fixed plate below said axle, means for rotating said drive shaft, a can feeding wheel non-rotatably attached to said shaft proximate said can cutting wheel, a second gear non-rotatably attached to said shaft below said first gear, an eccentric rotatably mounted on said shaft, said carrier having an eccentric opening in which said eccentric fits, entrainment means detachably connecting said eccentric to said shaft for moving said carrier and thereby moving said cutting wheel and first gear into and out of cooperative can opening relationships With said feeding wheel and second gear respectively when said shaft is rotated, said entrainment means connecting said eccentric to said shaft when the latter is rotated past a shift point in one direction and disconnecting said eccentric from said shaft when the latter is rotated past said shift point in the opposite direction, said entrainment means comprising a radius rod nonrotatably but axially tiltably attached at one of its ends to said shaft, a tooth on said rod adapted to fit into a recess in said eccentric to connect said eccentric to said radius rod and thereby to said shaft, a spring urging said radius rod toward said eccentric, and an entrainment cam on the lower portion of said carrier, said cam being adapted to engage said radius rod adjacent said shift point to tilt said radius rod away from said eccentric When said shaft is rotated in said opposite direction past said shift point, thereby lifting said tooth clear of said recess to detach said eccentric from said shaft, said cam being adapted, when said shaft is rotated in said one direction past said shift point, to lower said radius rod against said eccentric with said tooth fitting into said recess to connect said eccentric to said shaft.

2. A can opener comprising a housing having a front plate, a carrier slidably mounted against said plate within said housing for movement parallel to said plate, said plate having an aperture therein which is closed by said carrier in all slidable positions thereof, a stub axle on said carrier extending outwardly therefrom through said aperture, a can cutting wheel on said axle, a first gear on said axle, said gear being drivingly connected to said cutting wheel, a drive shaft rotatably mounted in said housing below said axle, means for rotating said shaft, an end of said shaft extending outwardly through said front plate, a can feeding wheel non-rotatably mounted on said shaft end proximate said can cutting wheel, a second gear non-rotatably mounted on said shaft below said first gear, an eccentric rotatably mounted on said shaft, said carrier having an eccentric opening in which said eccentric fits, entrainment means within said housing detachably connecting said eccentric to said shaft for moving said carrier and thereby moving said cutting wheel and first gear into and out of cooperative can opening relationships with said feeding wheel and second gear respectively when said shaft is rotated, said entrainment means connecting said eccentric to said shaft when the latter is rotated past a shift point in one direction and disconnecting said eccentric from said shaft when the latter is rotated past said shift point in the opposite direction, said entrainment means comprising a radius rod nonrotatably but axially tiltably attached at one of its ends to said shaft, a tooth on said rod adapted to fit into a recess in said eccentric to connect said eccentric to said radius rod and thereby to said shaft, a spring urging said radius rod toward said eccentric, and an entrainment cam on the lower portion of said carrier, said cam being adapted to engage said radius rod adjacent said shift point to tilt said radius rod away from said eccentric when said shaft is rotated in said opposite direction past said shift point, thereby lifting said tooth clear of said recess to detach said eccentric from said shaft, sa'id cam being adapted, when said shaft is rotated in said one direction past said shift point, to lower said radius rod against said eccentric with said tooth fitting into said recess to connect said eccentric to said shaft.

' References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

